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Westchester NY Homes

CoreLogic: 4.2 million homes in path of hurricane storm-surge | South Salem Real Estate

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More than 4.2 million U.S. homes are located within the risk-zone of hurricane-driven storm-surge along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, CoreLogic concluded in a study this week.

After analyzing residential property risk on the national, regional, state, metro and ZIP code level, CoreLogic ($26.430%) produced a Storm Surge Report, noting that $1.1 trillion in U.S. property is situated within at-risk areas.

Unfortunately, risk-prone areas are only increasing.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency released a revised flood map for New York suburbs, adding another 35,000 homes and businesses to the list of at-risk properties along the coast.

“Public awareness of the risk hurricane-driven storm surge poses to coastal homeowners has never been higher coming off the heels of Hurricane Sandy last fall,” said Dr. Howard Botts, vice president and director of database development for CoreLogic Spatial Solutions. “Sandy was a harsh reminder of the potential destruction associated with storm-surge flooding, and of just how many communities are vulnerable to that risk, in areas typically assumed to be relatively safe from hurricanes along the northeastern Atlantic shoreline.”

Of the $1.1 trillion in property at-risk, $658 billion is located in 10 major metro areas.

States high on the list include Louisiana with 411,000 homes in storm-surge zones. Not to mention, New York with $135 billion in property at risk.

Long Island, N.Y., alone has an estimated $200 billion in residential property exposed.

CoreLogic says for the first time the report incorporates a climate-related rise in sea levels – a factor putting more neighborhoods at risk.

“These findings show that the Miami area could potentially have the highest increase in the number of homes at risk of the cities discussed in the report,” CoreLogic said. “Given a one-foot rise in sea level, total properties at risk would nearly double from just under 132,000 to almost 340,000, and estimated value would increase from an estimated $48 billion to more than $94 billion overall.”

 

CoreLogic: 4.2 million homes in path of hurricane storm-surge | HousingWire.

Foreclosure Sales Fall 22% In Q1 | Armonk NY Real Estate

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foreclosure

Foreclosure and bank owned sales fell 18% in the first quarter to 190,121, according to RealtyTrac’s latest report.  This is down 22% from Q1 2012.

Foreclosure and short sales accounted for 21% of all residential sales in Q1, down form 25% in Q1 2012, and a peak of 45% in Q1 2009.

Meanwhile, non-foreclosure short sales were down 10% from Q4 2012, and down 35% from Q1 2012.

Including non-foreclosure short sales, the share of distressed sales came to 36%.

The decline in foreclosure related sales is in large part because of  a decline in foreclosure activity. But the decline in non-foreclosure short sales was “surprising” according to RaltyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist, given that 11 million homeowners are in negative equity.

“Rising home prices in many markets are stunting the continued growth of short sales by reducing incentive for both underwater homeowners and lenders.

“Underwater homeowners may be willing to stick it out a few more months or even years in the hope that they will be able to walk away with money at the closing table and without a hit to their credit rating, and for lenders a failed short sale may no longer translate into bigger losses down the road given that average prices of bank-owned homes are rising — at a faster pace than non-distressed home prices in many markets.”

Here are some details from the report:

  • The average price of a foreclosure related sale declined 1% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 to $167,095.
  • At 35% Georgia had the biggest percentage of foreclosure related sales. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey foreclosure-related sales account for less than 10% of sales.
  • The average price of a foreclosed home was 30% below the average price of a non-foreclosure property.

Here’s a look at foreclosure sales against average foreclosure sale price:

foreclosure sale and price chart

 

Foreclosure Sales Fall 22% In Q1 – Business Insider.

How to Get Your Executive Team Active in Social Media | Chappaqua Realtor

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As a savvy inbound marketer, you already know thatsocial media is a must-have in your marketing strategy. You’ve spent time looking at what channels work best for your company, creating the best content you can for those outlets, and aligning the social media goals to the business’ bottom line. You live and breathe social media every day on the job.

But that’s not true for everyone else in your organization. Not everyone is sold on the importance of social media — never mind manage their own presence. What about that VP down the hall with tons of killer industry knowledge or that executive you know who spends hours talking to customers? These executives may not be active in social media just yet, but they should be.

This is where you come in. If you think there are executives in your company who could add credibility to what you’re already doing, it’s time to get them on board.

Why Should Your C-Suite Be in Social Media?

Often, executives may feel like there’s not much for them to do in social media. They hired a social media manager to watch over the company’s presence, so why would they need to be in social media as well? Though some executives at your company may have already made up their minds about their social media participation (or lack thereof), it’s incredibly important to have them in social media.

Having a presence in social media gives executives the opportunity to stay relevant with industry trends, engage with your prospects and customers, and show that they stand by and believe in your brand. By not listening and participating in social media, executives are missing out on numerous opportunities to improve your business. And ultimately, growing your business is every executive’s objective.

How to Get Your Executive Team in Social Media

Getting executives in social media isn’t as simple as signing up for a Twitter handle and asking them to tweet. Instead, you’ve got to be strategic if you want to get on board. By following these five steps, you can develop a socially savvy executive team.

1) Pick the right executives for the job. 

Not every executive is ready to dive headfirst into social media — and that’s okay. Instead of proclaiming that all executives must start tweeting immediately, start off with a select few that you know would be successful in social media if you were to show them the ropes. Think about who would be a good advocate for your brand and have the potential to be a thought leader. Also, see how active they are in social media already. You may want to check out LinkedIn first to see who’s active already, since executives prefer LinkedIn to any other social site. This will give you a good indication of who to approach about helping build your brand in social media.

After you understand who’s been up to what, it’s time to think about your approach. Asking an executive who isn’t that familiar with Twitter or Facebook to jump right in isn’t going to work. First, they need to get an understanding of what’s happening on social media for your brand.

 

How to Get Your Executive Team Active in Social Media.

Nearly half of all US homeowners with a mortgage still ‘underwater’ in Q1 | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Zillow: Homeowners with ‘effective’ negative equity helped keep inventory low

Despite rising home prices early in the year, a significant portion of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage — about 44 percent — still owed more on their home than it was worth or didn’t have enough equity to move at the end of the first quarter, according to Zillow’s first-quarter Negative Equity Report.

Zillow’s analysis showed that 25.4 percent of homeowners with a mortgage were underwater on their homes, while another 18.2 percent more were “effectively” underwater, with less than 20 percent equity in their homes.

Taken together, about 22.3 million U.S. homeowners likely don’t have enough equity in their homes to afford a down payment on another home, Zillow said, keeping them in their homes and preventing new inventory from hitting the market.

“Reaching positive equity, even barely, is an important milestone,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries in a statement. “But things like real estate agents’ fees and a down payment for the next home traditionally come out of the proceeds from the prior home’s sale. Without enough equity, these costs will instead have to come out of a homeowner’s pocket, leaving many still stuck,” he said.

“Looking at the effective negative equity rate could explain why recent, healthy declines in the number of underwater borrowers haven’t yet translated into more homes for sale,” Humphries added. “The only cure is patience, as rising home values continue to build equity to the point where more homeowners can realistically sell.”

Among the 30 largest metro areas covered by Zillow, those with the highest effective negative equity rate, including homeowners with 20 percent equity or less, include Las Vegas (71.5 percent), Atlanta (64.1 percent), and Riverside, Calif. (59.7 percent).

 

Nearly half of all US homeowners with a mortgage still ‘underwater’ in Q1 | Inman News.

‘Underwater’ Homes Drag Sales Rate Down | Katonah NY Homes

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Why are home prices rising? One reason: a shortage of homes for sale.

But how can that be? After years of poor sales, shouldn’t there be a flood of potential sellers rushing to market as conditions improve?

That seems logical, but a study by Zillow , the housing and mortgage data firm, sheds light on a big part of the problem: the “effective” rate of underwater homes. Underwater means the mortgage borrower owes more than the home can fetch in a sale. To sell, the homeowner must come up with other money to make up the difference and retire the old loan. Many people just don’t have that much sitting around, or if they do they can’t bring themselves to tap their college or retirement funds.

Zillow says that at the end of the first quarter 25.4% of all homeowners with mortgages were underwater. On top of that 18.2% had less than 20% equity, meaning the mortgage balance exceeded 80% of the home’s value. Together, these two categories create an effective underwater rate of 43.6% – 22.3 million homes.

“These homeowners likely cannot afford a down payment for a new home, tying them to their current homes and contributing to inventory shortages,” Zillow says.

 

‘Underwater’ Homes Drag Sales Rate Down – Yahoo! Finance.

Average Selling Price for All Bedford Area Homes | RobReportBlog

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Average Sold Price
Armonk $      1,429,790.00
Chappaqua $         975,676.00
Pound Ridge $         952,189.00
Bedford Corners $      1,980,500.00
Bedford Village $      1,515,589.00
Bedford Hills $         810,555.00
South Salem $         548,000.00
Katonah $      1,027,795.00
North Salem $         636,000.00
Mt Kisco $         549,706.00

 

 

Average Selling Price for All Bedford Area Homes | RobReportBlog.

April Pending Home Sales | South Salem NY Real Estate

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suburbs housing california

Pending home sales climbed 0.3% month-over-month in April. This missed expectations for a 1.5% rise.

On a yearly basis they were up 13.9%, beating expectations for a 13.9% rise.

“The housing market continues to squeak out gains from already very positive conditions.  Pending contracts so far this year easily correspond to higher closed home sales in 2013,” said Lawrence Yun NAR chief economist in a press release.

A regional breakdown showed that the pending home sales index (PHSI) increased the most in the Northeast, up 11.5% on the month, and 17.7% on the year. The PHSI fell the most in the West, down 7.6% on the month and 2.6% on the year.

March’s reading was revised up modestly to show a 5.9% year-over-year rise.

Here’s a look at how pending home sales have done since 2001:

April pending home sales chart

 

April Pending Home Sales – Business Insider.

Teens & Facebook Relationship Status: It’s Complicated | Katonah Realtor

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Teens & Facebook Relationship Status: It's Complicated

Don’t believe the hype. Teens are not abandoning Facebook – nor are they likely to leave anytime soon.

Like the once bittersweet, respectful and sometimes resentful interactions between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, so is the prickly, contentious and mutually beneficial relationship between teens and Facebook. It’s complicated, yes, but teens and Facebook – despite what you’ve heard – are practically joined at the hip.

I Hate You! I Hate You! Can I Borrow the Car?

Facebook would be wise not to ignore teen’s complaints regarding the service – complaints that span peer pressure, image, prying parents, privacy settings, advertising and access. Nonetheless, for teens, Facebook has become a pillar of daily life, like school and parents.

A recent Pew Research report on teens and social media launched the blogosphere into a giddy, frenzied panic. Teens are “abandoning” Facebook, several sites claimed. This is false – likely the result of a limited reading of the report’s data and a too-eager willingness to parrot an Associated Press report which stated that “teens are migrating to Twitter.”

Twitter is booming as a social media destination for teenagers who complain about too many adults and too much drama on Facebook.

Such statements were based less on Pew’s actual survey data, however, and more on cherry-picking responses from Pew’s supplemental focus group sessions. In particular, the media chose to focus their attention on two very small open-ended online discussions that Pew conducted: one with 11 middle schoolers and the other with nine high schoolers. 

Here are the facts: nearly every teen in the U.S. is online and the vast majority of them are on Facebook – first and foremost. Nothing else is close. Indeed, the very same teen focus group complaints likely only reveal the pre-eminence of Facebook in teenager’s lives.

What Are You Doing? Nothing.

Fully 95% of American teens are online and of those who use anyform of social media, an incredible 94% have a Facebook account – a slight increase from 93% in 2011.

Teens aren’t simply signing up for a Facebook account, of course. The data show that teens rely upon Facebook in numbers radically higher than any other social media platform, including Twitter. Note also that Google’s much promoted Google Plus registers at only 1% as teens’ preferred choice.

I’m In Charge

Two primary reasons many analysts claim teens will abandon Facebook is because of the site’s confusing privacy policies and, possibly more concerning, the fact that teens’ parents can see everything they post. In fact, neither of these are much of a concern.

Pew’s data shows that nearly 90% of teens say Facebook’s privacy settings are either “not difficult at all” to manage or “not too difficult.” A surprisingly high 61% of teens have reviewed their Facebook privacy settings within the prior month of the survey – and nearly 80% of teens within the prior year.

Turns out, the granularity of Facebook controls are welcome. For example, 60% of teens keep their Facebook profile “private” – restricted to approved friends and family access. Further, only 16% choose to have their location automatically included in their updates. Teens are in control of their Facebook profile. Twitter, by contrast, is more likely to be viewed as fully “public” by teens.

With respect to mom and dad seeing what’s on their profile, that also isn’t much of a concern. Only 5% of teens “limit what their parents can see” on Facebook.

The vast majority of teen Facebook users say that their parents and other adults see the same content and updates that all of their friends see, suggesting that having multiple Facebook accounts is not a common practice.

Teens & Facebook Relationship Status: It’s Complicated – ReadWrite.

5 Home Renovations That Could Hurt Resale | South Salem Real Estate

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pool

While a must-have for some buyers, swimming pools can also be a huge turn-off for other home shoppers.

Unlike the homeowner of 25 years ago, today’s typical buyers plan to live in their homes for just five to seven years. So it’s more important than ever to consider resale when making home improvements.

Even if you’re a buyer, it’s important to think like a seller, too, from the time you sign the purchase contract through any home improvement or renovation projects. The goal: Think about how your improvements might affect the sale of your home down the road.

Below are five home renovation/improvement projects that could actually hurt your home’s resale.

1. Going overboard on landscaping or gardens

A homeowner/seller may have a green thumb and be really proud of the time spent on the garden, the hedges or landscaping. But the next buyer might see it as too much maintenance, especially if you went overboard with your green thumb. Potential buyers may not be willing to pay for it (as part of the home’s overall price), hire a gardener or do the work themselves. This is especially true with Millennials and Gen X-ers. Of course, your property needs curb appeal, and nice landscaping does sell. But it could be just as easy to do a quick, inexpensive yard once-over before going on the market.

2. Converting a garage into a family room

Converting a garage into a family room may make sense if you don’t have a nice car or you simply want a bigger family room. Some people think a driveway is enough. But this is a huge “no-no” in real estate. A garage is expected, especially in the suburbs. If you take it out, you lose a huge chunk of buyers who simply won’t consider a home without a garage.

3. Taking out a bedroom

It’s common today for people to transform a bedroom into a huge master closet or into a home office with a built-in desk and cabinet. If you do, make sure the room can be easily turned back when you put the home on the market. Buyers with kids may need that bedroom. They’ll see the room you converted into a home office or closet as more money they’ll need to spend to turn it back into a bedroom.

A home office is the easiest to undo, as long as you haven’t built in intricate desks, shelves and cabinets. A large closet generally goes within a master bedroom, which includes taking out a door or putting up a wall — all of which is harder to undo.

4. Adding a swimming pool

Similar to landscaping, a pool requires maintenance and is an even bigger liability. This is very particular for certain parts of the country. If you’re in the South, in a warm environment, you can get away with it much more easily. A pool would be a common “must-have” on many buyers’ wish list.

If you’re in an area where it’s only warm a few months a year and pools aren’t common, adding one could be a big mistake. Then again, it’s your home, and if you plan to be there a long time, add the pool. Just know that it may be a turn-off to future buyers. When in doubt, consult your agent.

5. Adding highly personalized colors, finishes or fixtures

Often, homeowners put in tile, sinks, vanities, countertops and floor coverings that are hard to replace, and yet are specific to their tastes.

For example, you may be obsessed with the Moroccan tile from your Marrakesh vacation last year and want it in your kitchen. But the next buyer may not be so enthusiastic. Similarly, installing ceramic or marble tile all over the floors may be a costly mistake that others won’t want to pay for. Some homeowners assume that because they spent $50,000 in such upgrades, their homes will be worth so much more. But what may be a highly personal touch could make your home look like a “fixer-upper” to others. The end result: You’ll turn off a lot of buyers who don’t like your taste and don’t want to do the work to undo it.

 

5 Home Renovations That Could Hurt Resale | Zillow Blog.

What the Housing Market Turnaround Means for You | Bedford Hills Real Estate

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In recent months it’s become clear that the housing market has turned around, with prices this spring adding to the 7.3% gains of last year. But future gains are likely to be more modest — about 2.5% this year.

That’s the latest estimate from CoreLogic(CLGX_), the housing-data firm. CoreLogic projects an average gain of 3.9% a year through 2017.

While many homeowners would prefer faster appreciation, gains of 3% to 4% are probably healthier over the long run than larger ones. Too much appreciation produces bubbles, which do terrible damage when they collapse. If homeprices grow faster than incomes, fewer and fewer people can afford to buy, and prices eventually drop to reflect the lower demand that results.

Also, home price gains are not really money in homeowners’ pockets, because the next home you buy is probably getting more expensive too.

But why won’t homes appreciate faster? After all, in most parts of the country, homes are still worth far less than they at their peak in 2006 or 2007.

CoreLogic says several factors are at play. The heavy demand from investors buying foreclosed properties will diminish as rising prices and falling foreclosures reduce the number of bargains. A shortage of homes for sale will diminish as rising prices draw more sellers into the market. Price gains, for example, will reduce the number of underwater mortgages — where the homeowner owes more than the home is worth — making homes easier to sell.

“Price appreciation will also be limited by the increase in supply as more new homes are built,” 

 

What the Housing Market Turnaround Means for You – TheStreet.